


The Calm After the Storm

by Intheshadows9



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Blood of Olympus, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, accidental angst, solangelo, whoops!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2662349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Intheshadows9/pseuds/Intheshadows9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after the events in Blood of Olympus. Nico is afraid to expose their relationship to the rest of the camp, but Will wants to be open about it. There is a party and news of the couple spreads through the camp like wildfire, leaving Will and Nico's big secret not so big anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Beginning From What Everyone Thought Was the End

**Author's Note:**

> Before I start, I want to say that I do NOT own the Percy Jackson series or the characters. The only thing that I do own is this plot. This ship hit me out of the blue and I absolutely fell in love with it. Enjoy!

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT YOUR TYPE?!” I heard Percy yell at me demanding an answer. “I'M EVERYBODYS TYPE!” I didn't offer him an explanation, I just kept walking grinning maniacally as I made my way to the camp infirmary.  
There waiting for me was Will Solace. His golden hair shimmered in what sunlight came into the considerably smaller building.  
“I'm so happy you decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood Nico! This place wouldn't be the same without you!” He grinned in my direction and went back to dressing burns from the climbing wall. What does he mean not the same? Isn't it sunshine and butterflies when I'm not around?  
I turned around and the tone of voice that Will used startled both me and the poor camper next to him. “Where do you think you're going Death boy?” He moved his hands from the bandages to his hips. “You owe me three days in the infirmary starting now!” I pretended to huff in protest. Now Will is more my type. I guess I like strong, blond figures who are also extremely helpful. In a nutshell, the exact opposite of Percy Jackson, aka, my crush for the past four years. For some reason, it just sort of flip-flopped.  
“Fine, where do I begin?” I asked seeking further instruction. Really, I just wanted to see him smile again. I hadn't exactly been in Camp-Half-Blood for at least a full year and it is nice to spend some time with a familiar face that isn't sucking on someone’s face.  
“Well,” oh no, here's where the trouble starts. “You could start by getting me a salty snack, but after that, could you stand by the rock climbing wall and assist any injured new recruits? There have been quite a lot these days and they just aren't quite grasping the concept that hot lava comes down the wall and-” I cut him off, getting the gist of what he wanted.  
At the climbing wall, there were already quite a few injured campers holding either an arm or a leg or bracing their ankle.  
These are going to be a long three days I sigh, slowly helping the campers one by one the best I could back to the infirmary to “doctor” Solace. Luckily there were only a handful of injured campers, otherwise this would have been more painful than anticipated at first.  
“Thank you for bringing these kids...” he paused for a moment, the continued again. “NURSE NICO!” Both Will and a couple campers burst out laughing at the outburst. I felt heat rise in my cheeks. So this is what it is like to blush. I had never experienced this feeling to my knowing.  
“Come on Nico, take a joke.” I feel a hand on my shoulder. I can't tell whose it is because my mind is clouded over with one thought. Will freaking Solace. His face etched into my mind and his cheery laughter rang in my ears. I let a teensy tiny sideways smile.  
As he caught sight if it, he let out a small gasp. “I've never seen you smile since before you guys left on that quest and Bianca didn't return with you. Ever since, you have been, how would you put it...desolate?” My breath hitches at the mention of Bianca and my small smile dissolves into my usual emotionless state. “Sorry dude, I didn't know that would make memories resurface.” To wrap up his apology, he enveloped me in a hug and for the second time in such a long time, I hugged back burrowing my face into his shoulder and shedding maybe a tear or five. While in this delicate position, I took in his scent. He somehow smelled of a mixture of medical cleaner and sunshine. His scent was almost addictive to my senses. These happy thoughts pushed through the wall of sadness that I had built around Bianca's death.  
It was I who broke our precious silence first. “I think I'm okay now. Thank you for that. I needed it.” He smiled and I swear the room had gotten times brighter than it had been before.  
“I vote we get out of here and we go down to the beach. I heard everyone's going and I think we should catch up with each other and find out what has been going on. Ever since the giant’s war began, the ward has been constantly filled with campers so I have no time to catch up. Plus, I had to deliver a baby. A FRICKING BABY!” As he reached the end, he held his hands away from himself in utter disgust. I chuckle and repeat what I had said earlier about his birth-job.  
“I know, I know. And eww, I hope you washed your hands! You touched me with those hands!” By now the once injured campers had slowly filed out of the infirmary, leaving the two of us alone. “Well if we're going to go, lets!”  
We walk out of the ward together in the direction of the beach. We pass by the cabins, campers swarming in and out of their cabins at all different times, especially the Hermes cabin. That one is absolutely full of kids! The usual plume of smoke was coming out of the smokestack on top of the Hephaestus cabin. The dark aura surrounding the Hades cabin casts a dark haze around us as we walked past it.  
At the dinner pavilion, we walked to our respective parents tables and as usual, I was alone. I mean Jason and Percy would be alone too, but they have Piper and Annabeth with them, so I am the only one really alone here.  
I hear a voice call my name across the pavilion and Will came bounding over to my table, tray full of food and all. "Mind if I sit with you?" He made his signature "puppy dog eyes" face, making his brilliant blue eyes seem wider than ever.  
"I guess so...it's not like I have much of a choice do I?" His puppy dog face immediately morphed into possibly the widest grin I have ever seen in my life. I mean "The Grinch" wide or even wider. He sat down immediately across from me and started shovelling food into his mouth.  
The way his hair caught the sunlight made it shimmer looking like spun gold, caught my eyes and held on with an iron grip. From here, I could see the highlights in his hair from what I assume could be from being out surfing in the sun. Underneath all the light, there are some darker strands of gold that accent his hair perfectly. He looks up for a micro second and I scramble to pretend that I wasn't staring creepily at him.  
"Hey," he called not caring that just prior, I had been staring at him. "Looking is free, but it'll cost to touch." I felt my face heat up and I could see that Will is trying his damnedest to keep from laughing. I could audibly hear his struggle until he decided to let his laughter free. His laughter is contagious, I end up laughing alongside him, confusing everybody at the pavilion.  
After we finished eating, in between our fits of laugher, we wandered over to the beach. By the time we got there, most of both the Ares and Apollo cabins were set up to party. A few kids from the Athena cabin were huddled together in a group probably planning out the party. Hazel is sitting cross-legged in the sand probably having a very deep conversation with Frank while watching the sun slowly start to set over Long Island Sound.  
"What do you want to do?" The blond boy beside me spoke up first. I raised my hand to my face, chin in between my thumb and index fingers, pondering his question.  
"I think," I started but not giving a straight answer right away. "We should just hang out together! I mean, all my friends here I was in the House of Hades with, so we don't need to catch up. So I guess you lead the way Golden Boy!" I saw his cheeks take on a pink hue. Seeing him blush made my heart skip a beat. I suddenly feel the overwhelming need to grab him by the collar of his shirt and kiss him. Is it too soon to be making moves on him? It's not like there is some age gap that separates us by a couple of years, we're the same age! Just my only question is, does he like me that way I like him?  
"Di Angelo," this time, it is Clarisse. She approaches me, and salutes. "Brave work out there soldier. You did well." I could get anything out before she walked away. I really didn't do that much to assist in putting Gaea back to rest.  
I turned to Will, whose smiling face greets me every time I steal a glance at it. "What was that about?" I ask him clearly confused. "I didn't help that much with the war, did I?"  
His face nearly answered my question. "What do you mean "didn't do that much?" You brought the Athena Parthenos here to Camp Half-Blood, nearly permanently fading into the shadows because of it. Bringing that statue here pacified the two camps and half the war was done. You did so damn much kid!"  
The strength in his voice, and the power in that pep-talk boosted my self-esteem and gave me the power to ask him a very important personal question. "Will," my voice clumped in my throat and I couldn't get the words that I wanted out.  
"Yes Nico? Is everything okay?" He got very close very fast and rested the back of his hand on my forehead. "This is no good, we need to go to the infirmary NOW!" He winked, giving me the opportunity for us to slip away from the party to be truly alone. Maybe in the infirmary I can ask him the question without worry of throwing up everywhere.  
In the little building, it was only the two of us. Everyone else is down at the beach having a ball, and I'm here trying to avoid embarrassing myself in front of my crush. The silence between the two of us is a wall. A great big brick wall that shows no signs of crumbling on its own, a wall that I must break through. The time is now and this may be my only opportunity to do so.  
"Will," I begin again and this time, there is no blockage. "I have an important question to ask you." I watched as the tenseness unravelled nearly immediately after finishing.  
He took a deep breath. "I was worried for a second that you were going to leave me. Ask away young grasshopper." I see that being worried doesn't affect his sense of humour.  
"I like you a lot and these feelings of mine must have been bottled up for a while and have only recently been unveiled and I just really like you" I just outright said it. I confessed to Will just as I had Percy earlier today. I felt like I could cry. I already feel the tears welling and threatening to spill over and cascade. Wills face however, is frozen in shock as to what I had told him.  
His silence makes the tears harder and harder to fight back. I inhale sharply and start walking towards the door to the infirmary. A hand grips my shoulder and I know that it is Wills. I don't turn to face him. I don't make a sound.  
He breaks this uncomfortable silence between us and speaks sort of shakily. "Nico...you took the words right out of my mouth. I have been worried for your life here, praying for your safe return. It looks like my prayers came true, here you are in front of me. I want you Nico. I couldn't live with myself if you decided not to stay here. I want you here with me." The once strong boy, now was on the verge of bawling. His dazzling blue eyes, red around the edges. He sniffles in uneven intervals to mine. My eyes were red around the edges as well.  
I smiled as wide as I could manage without breaking down and crying. I hugged him as hard as my body could handle in this state and I could feel his arms wrap around my frame and held us together. I can feel his hand come up to the top of my head. I look up at him and I find his stare focused on me.  
"Hey," I start. "It's free to look, but it'll cost you to touch!" I hear a laugh bubble up from his throat. I can feel his laugh in his chest and I try to match my laugh to his. We laugh together, at last, together.  
"How much will that cost me Death boy?" The golden haired boy asked cautiously. I pretend to think on the matter before planting a kiss on his cheek. I let the red rise in my cheeks and I see the same colour in Wills cheeks as well. His movements are like lightning. All of a sudden, I find myself in a weightless state and then on Wills lap. I rest my forehead against his, our lips centimetres apart. All it would take now is for one of us to shift and we would be locking lips.  
We don't hear the door open to the infirmary, but by the time the person spoke up, it was too late to scramble away from each other and pretend that nothing was going on.  
"Will?" A surprised girl stood in the doorframe and peered in at the two who from her perspective, looked like they were making out.  
Nico knew exactly who that girl was without even looking at her. "A-Annabeth? What are you doing here?" I spoke before Will could even find his voice.  
"NICO! Man you sure move fast!" Annabeth started clapping at the couple caught in the act. "Will, Percy was wondering where you disappeared to, but I have seen all that I needed to." She grinned manically in our direction. I awkwardly climbed off of Will and moved as fast as I could towards the daughter of Athena who just walked in on me about to kiss Solace.  
"Wait! Annabeth!" I scrambled to keep up with her, but I managed to somewhat catch up to the daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom. I began begging, almost dropping to my knees. "Please don't tell anyone about that! I am so embarrassed!"  
All she did was smile and continue walking before she stopped and spoke a few meters away. "Fine, but you I'm almost obligated to tell Percy who you ditched him for. It's only fair. He's been rattled all afternoon because of what you told him. He just didn't understand." She put her one and only offer on the table. I suppose I can make an exception for the seaweed-brain. I mean, it's only fair, I did drop a big bomb on him today out of the blue. I nodded in agreement to her terms, and she started walking away again, not before high-fiving me once again.  
I sucked in a deep breath before trying to make my way back to the infirmary without being noticed by any of the campers or the patrol harpies. Luckily when I made it back, un-noticed and unharmed, Solace was still exactly where I had left him, probably all hot and bothered.  
"What the hell was that all about?" I have noticed how much stronger Will's language is since I saw him before the war. He crossed his arms, clearly indicating that I can't climb back on him without giving an explanation.  
My hand migrated to the back of my neck and began rubbing. "You see, I want to keep us underground for now? I made sure Annabeth doesn't tell anyone but Percy."  
Now his hands are just resting on his lap. "Why do you want to keep us a secret? I though you liked me?" His tone of voice cracked a little and pain seeped in through those cracks.  
I moved to his side and grabbed his right hand. "I really do like you, just don't you think us being together would add to the already chaotic nature of this camp? Let's just try to keep this private for now until things simmer down."  
Instead of giving a vocal reply, he rested his forehead against mine for a quick second and the planted a kiss on my cheek. "Well then, where were we?" He grinned and lifted me straight off the ground and I landed softly on his lap once again. Wrapping both my arms and legs around his torso, I kissed the corner of his mouth, leaving him only wanting more. He returned the same gesture. I was really hoping he would initiate the full-on kiss, I am pretty sure he's kissed someone before. But then again, he's liked me, so maybe he hasn't been with anyone and hasn't kissed anyone.  
I guess I have to take charge of this romance. I gripped his face on both sides and pulled it towards mine. Our lips crashed at a force not too hard and not too soft, but what seems to be just right. The white noise from the beach drained away and I closed my eyes. I feel what i assume to be his tongue begging for entrance into my mouth. I part my lips and it slips in. When our tongues touched, another tingling sensation started down in my gut and the resurrected skeletal butterflies are now in full flight.  
We only pull away from each other because we need to breathe air in order to even be together. I feel slight pressure on my fingers and I find that throughout the kiss of a lifetime, we miraculously managed to intertwine our fingers.  
I look up to see his face again and I see that he is showing his one of a kind, easygoing smile. "My sunshine" he chuckled a little at the nickname I gave him.  
"I like it my little shadow" I bet he couldn't help but give me a nickname as well. He squeezed my hand before speaking again. "People are probably wondering where we are. We should get back to the be-" Before he could finish, I decided then would be a good time to suck the breath out of him. His eyes grew wide in surprise and in the midst of the kiss, he smiled, despairingly breaking the kiss. I whimper a bit, hoping to make him feel a little guilty, but my attempts failed. He gripped me tighter and stood up whilst holding me and set me on my feet.  
Still having an iron grip on my hand, he led me out of the infirmary and back down to the beach, but made sure that we weren't holding hands once there.  
Even though we weren't coming in any physical contact, the butterflies flit harder when it wasn't just the two of us. Every chance I get, I look in his direction and every other odd time, I catch him looking at me to. The odd time I see Percy and Annabeth standing together and all I get is a wink from each, haunting my thoughts thinking anyone know about Solace and I.  
She walks towards me, pushing the people in between us to the sides for her to get to me easier. "Hey Nico! Enjoying the party? Did you kiss him yet?" She casually slid that last question in without me realizing. I just stared at her blankly. She made strange gestures with her hands. "Well, did you?"  
"Did I what?" I answer her question in full innocence, but she looks like she could thwack me over the head with a shoe.  
"Did you KISS HIM!" Whipping her arms around her body, she had raised her voice a little too high, and now a few people turned to watch the drama unfold.  
I elbow her, only now is she realizing what a commotion she has created. "Shut up you loudmouth!" Now people are looking at me. Great. Just what I wanted.  
"Shut up about what?" A voice called in the sea of campers. I didn't want to answer and reveal anything or lie to anyone.  
Luckily, Will was there to have my back and spoke before I could even open my mouth. "Nico has to come with me immediately, we have to get to the infirmary straight away!"  
"Clearly not straight enough." I heard Annabeth murmur to herself, earning her another elbow to the side, being careful not to hurt her too bad that Percy comes after me. I feel pulling and I oblige to it, finding myself being pulled in sort of the direction of the infirmary.  
"Where's a good place for us to be together and knowing no one will walk in on us again?" He spoke in almost a frantic tone, really wanting some personal time with his "little shadow".  
An idea struck me harder than the brick that apparently hit Jason. "We could use the Hades cabin. I mean, I'm the only one who uses it and nobody even wants to touch it with a ten-foot pole. All because of the aura that the dam thing throws." I hopped onto the "dam" bandwagon not too long ago and am finding it really helpful. Thank the gods for being friends with Percy Jackson!  
When he heard my idea, he turned on his heels to the direction of the cabins. Unfortunately, we had come from the goddess side of the cabins Ω shape and we have to walk all the way to the other side to get to my cabin.  
On the god’s side, the Hades cabin was nearly invisible in the dark of the night. The only things giving away its position is the gems on top reflecting the moonlight perfectly in all directions. The darkness already around us impossibly seems to darken even more. There is a glint of light that flickers lightly against the dark. It beckons us towards it and it turns out to be the door to the cabin. Hazel mustn’t have shut the door well, leaving our stuff exposed. We step in and we are bathed by the red-tinted light thrown throughout the cabin. The vampire-esque furniture that had looked to be right only hours earlier seemed to stick out like a sore thumb.  
“Wow,” Will said, taking in the foreign surroundings. “All of this just looks so...” he paused, searching for the right word to describe the interior design of my cabin. “I thing gloomy is a good way to put it.” That's the word I was looking for! Gloomy describes it perfectly! I am so caught up in how the Hades cabin looks, I didn't notice Will slips an arm around me, his skin warm against mine. I hold onto him and lead him over to a lounge area the builders added instead of more beds, because there is only like two of us. There was originally three, but now we’re down to two. I feel a stray tear threaten to stream down, but then I remember Will is here and I have to be strong. We sit down on the crimson red loveseat couch and I rest against Will’s body. He proceeds to wrap his arms around me and pulls me in closer. I burrow my face into his chest and I feel his heartbeat. His is so steady and strong compared to mine, I am guessing that is only because I have been on the brink of death at least twice now. I feel his breathing, taking slow, deep breaths. Both together nearly put me in a rhythmic trance. Will shifts slightly, snapping me from that trance and I feel his heartbeat changed pace and his breaths became a slight bit sharper.  
I look up at the blond boy’s face. “What’s the matter?” His face isn’t smiling anymore. I turn to look where Will is staring as well and see a mighty surprise. Dad.  
This time my dad is in his usual getup when visiting me. His red t-shirt melds with the furniture and the black vest overtop matches almost everything else. His leather pants however, I was never able to convince him to get rid of. His usual mess of curls on top his head was the only thing that looked the same since I saw him in Portugal.  
“Dad?” I say at a complete loss of words. He gives a slight smile, knowing I would recognise him.  
“Ah, son,” he greeted me but turned his attention over to Will. “Who are YOU?” When did my dad get so much sass? Who knows, maybe the same place Percy got his.  
Will gulped loudly before speaking. “M-my name is W-will sir.” He spoke quietly, but hopefully not too quiet for the God of the Underworld.  
“Will, hey?” Now is only the beginning of the full interrogation I had seen Hazel receive regarding Frank. “Who’s your godly parent? Do THEY approve of this?” I am so close to face-palming myself, it’s not funny.  
To my surprise, he responded quite quickly for being under all this pressure. “A-Apollo sir and nobody but a couple campers knows about us.” I sure am glad he’s taking the safe route when talking with my dad because who knows when he may feel the need to flare up, literally.  
“I see how it is.” My father can be so cryptic some days. “In that case, consider yourself warned, if you break my only son’s heart, there WILL be serious consequences for you Will!”  
I see the familiar glow behind his irises. “Dad!” I both want and receive his attention. “Why do you do this? It’s not like you and Apollo have some sort of huge rivalry or something, right?”  
Hades comprehends what I said in front of him and lowers his head. “I guess you’re right, there is nothing between me and Apollo…but still” He narrowed his eyes at Will and Will whimpers a little, clearly getting the message. Dad flashes out of the cabin, but standing where he was is another god. This time it is Apollo.  
“What is this I hear about you guys dating?” Apollo’s foot tapped to an invisible beat, waiting for an answer from either one of us.  
I speak up first. “Apollo sir, we only just got together today. Nobody knows except for Annabeth and possibly Percy.” Will’s dad stopped tapping his foot. Now it is my turn to be both worried and scared.  
Apollo looked at us both with half-frowns. But just as sudden as the frowns appeared, they were replaced with the Sun god laughing. Laughing at either our faces or something funny from earlier. My money is on the first guess.  
“I’m just pulling your chains! I’m actually really happy that you guys found each other! Hades on the other hand…not so much.” He walked right to Will and put a hand on his left shoulder. “Now go, be happy together!” Another light, brighter than the first flashed and the god was both out of sight and out of mind. We stand in absolute silence and our hands migrated towards each other’s and they suctioned together.  
He pulls me back to the couch and we sit down again. “Now where were we again?” Will said, quoting what he said earlier. I try my best to reposition myself in the same manner as before. I want to slip back into that trance-like state. His heart thrummed in time with my own and my eyelids began to grow heavy. I feel my body begin to slip away and my eyelids closed.


	2. Hiccup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy update! I know it has been a while and this chapter is a bit shorter, but I should be able to make the next chapter nice and long!

My eyes flash open and my vision is blurred with a pale yellowish colour. I look around half-asleep, not knowing exactly where I am. I see the side table to my other side and the lamp on it is familiar. I now know I’m lying in my bed. I feel something squeeze around my torso. Not knowing what it was, I tighten up and squirm uncomfortably.  
“Hmm” I hear a voice coming from beside me. “What’s up?” The voice is tired, and clearly woke up due to my movement. I look towards the voice and I am greeted by a blond boy’s smiling face.  
“Morning” his voice is rough from having just woken up. “I hope you don’t mind that I crashed with you. It’s just-” I don’t care what he has to say, it’s Will we’re talking about here after all. We proceed to lay in my bed as the early morning passed by. The silence was nice. We don’t have a lot of that here when the majority of the camp is kids between the ages of twelve and fourteen.  
The bell signalling breakfast rang and it echoed through the Long Island Sound easily without any competition. Doors slam and campers groan as they make their way to the dining pavilion half-asleep. We begin to unravel from each other and slowly make our way to the pavilion as well. Everyone around us looked dead, and by dead, I mean DEAD. Dark circles had made their homes underneath their eyes and half of them couldn’t walk in a straight line. I’m guessing that the party last night must have gone pretty late for some of these campers to exhibit those circles.  
Without fail, Annabeth bounded cheerfully over towards my table. How she is not tired, I don’t know. “Hey Nico. What did Doctor Solace have to say last night?” She clearly didn’t forget the getaway act that Will and I pulled and I shifted nervously in my seat. “Oh. My. Gods. You guys did it!” This is the first time I have seen Annabeth jump to conclusions in my life. I opened my mouth to speak against it, but nothing but air escaped my mouth. Her eyes widened impossibly and she ran off yelling “I CAN’T WAIT TELL PIPER!” into the wind. I froze, her telling the daughter of the goddess of love is the worst decision since I didn’t finish eating that fartura in Portugal.   
Dang, I could really go for a fartura right now. Geez brain not now! We have more important things to stress about, like a visit from the goddess of love herself. Knowing Aphrodite, she’ll flash in in the middle of Will and I making out or maybe she won’t. Who knows!  
Instead of chasing down Annabeth which I know I couldn’t, I ran as fast as I could to where I had left Will in the dust. I didn’t stop when I had reached him, I allowed myself to collide into him and he wrapped his arms around me and absorbed the force of me knocking into him. “What is it Nico?” His voice echoed through my mind and my breaths continued, short and choppy. “Nico. Take deep breaths with me now. In through your nose…out through your mouth, in through your nose…out through your mouth.”   
I did as he told and my breathing returned to normal. “S-something bad has h-happened” He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, his piercing eyes boring holes into mine.  
“What do you mean?!” He demanded me to answer, even tightening his grip so I couldn’t escape. I have never seen him so angry before, it almost makes me uneasy seeing him like this.  
I gulp and give him the straight truth. “Annabeth is going to tell Piper about us and how she thinks we did it last night.”  
“What do you mean by ‘did it’?” His seriousness lightened up with the question, his face instead looking like I just asked him a question impossible for him to answer. Instead of answering his question I acted it out, thrusting my hips forwards and backwards in a rhythmic pattern. He grinned and patted my shoulder and I stopped. “Ah, that ‘doing it’, why didn’t you just say so?” I think the evident blush across my cheeks answers his question pretty vividly and I hung my head.   
Will pulled me back into another hug, but yet again, our actions were interrupted by another bright flash of light. Where the blast of light originated Aphrodite stood in its place. Her perfect face was twisted into the most terrifying smile I have seen since my venture in Tartarus. Between her random mumbling and squeals, she was also jumping around like one of her demigod children. “You two are like the talk of Olympus right now! I mean with all the rumours being spread Nico, your dad is furious and refusing to believe them. But you can tell me of course darlings, so, did it really happen?”  
She continued bouncing around until we spoke up. “No we didn’t do that so don’t get your toga twisted up now.” Will spoke before I could and she turned her attention back to us instead of physically bouncing off of the walls.  
Her smile faded and turned into a frown. “Dang, I was really hoping that was true, but whenever I overhear someone say something like that, it is never true.” Aphrodite’s bright aura faded slightly and she continued pacing around us. She stopped in front of us and asked us another question. “Are you two even a couple?”  
For once, Will blushed instead of me. “Yes, yes we are actually dating. Nobody but Annabeth, Percy, and now Piper probably know.” Just from me saying that, Aphrodite brightened yet again, letting more squeals escape. I see that her kids are no better than their mom when it comes to love and relationships. She thanks us for clearing up the rumours around us and she disappears with another flash of light.  
We walk back to my cabin and I grab Will’s hand and we automatically interlock our fingers and I rest my head on his shoulder once inside and nestled on the same loveseat couch as last night. “It’s way too early in the morning to deal with all this crap.” His voice is still tired, and I can tell so is he. I slowly move his head from my shoulder to my lap which must be much more comfortable than my bony shoulder. In no time at all, Will is passed out, leaving me with nothing to do but stroke the blond hair on his head. His blond hair is softer than I had expected it to be.  
Time slips by and I find my eyes closing as well. I move him so I can lay comfortably beside him on the couch. I for sure can’t lift him and move him to my bed for the life of me so we’ll have to make do with the couch this time.  
A knock at my cabin’s door woke me, but Will still slept like the dead. The alarm clock beside my bed reads 2 pm.  
We slept right through the lunch bell! Will hasn’t stirred at all…did he stay up all night instead of falling asleep beside me or something?  
I open the door expecting the bright afternoon light to blind me, but nothing of the sort happens. Luckily, the figure in the doorway blocked the light from doing so and in turn, silhouetted them with sunlight.  
“Uh, Nico?” The voice belongs to Percy. He motions as if asking if he can step in and I move aside. He walks in cautiously, not knowing what could jump out at any moment. “Yesterday, what did you mean by-” I stop him before he can make an even bigger fool of himself. I put my hand over his mouth after I put my index finger over my mouth signalling for him to be quiet.   
A hand found the top of the loveseat and startled me as its fingers brushed along my spine. I draw in a sharp breath and my eyes widen slightly from the sensation. It took all my strength to restrain myself from spinning around and breaking Will’s wandering hand.  
Percy must have noticed as well. “Uh, Nico?” He tried to look over my shoulder for a clue as to what had just happened. “What the hell was that?” I feel my face heat up and I redirected my eyes to look at the knots in the wooden floor of my cabin. But at the same time, I don’t want him to wander over and see the leader of the Apollo cabin sprawled across the loveseat.  
What do I do? I know Annabeth told Percy, but what if he tells the others? I still don’t know if I can trust the guy!  
“I-it was nothing!” I move so that I am constantly in the space between Percy and the couch.  
He raised an eyebrow and took a step forward. He knows I’m lying! I spin the brunet around and push him towards the door.   
He digs his heels into the floor and he is suddenly unmoveable. He turns around and looks me dead in the eyes. “Wait, wait. What the actual fuck is going on?”   
Both Percy and Annabeth have gotten a little looser with their language ever since the war ended. The first time both of them swore, Hazel was visiting and when she heard the profanities spouting from their mouths, she nearly fainted and began praying. All I did was smirk as they continued on with their regular lives. If you can consider our lives normal that is.  
There are more noises coming from the couch and Will’s head of blond hair popped up from the other side. “What’s with all the racket babe?” I blush a furious shade of fire truck red and diverted my eyes from my ex-crush. I can fell the waves of second-hand embarrassment roll throughout the room and cascade over each of us in the room. When I look back up, two sets of eyes are staring at me. One extremely confused, the other half asleep and in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to update at least once a month, but no more because school has me ready to strangle myself. You can find me on tumblr as www.imtheshadows942.tumblr.com. As always, I enjoy your feedback!


	3. A Frown, A Scowl, and a Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! This chapter is shorter than the rest! No matter, this was interesting for me to write, so I hope you like it!

"Would somebody please tell me what the hell just happened!" Percy demands oblivious to what is in front of him. Will is standing up now. He runs a hand through his blond locks and yawns.  
"Wow." Will says grinning slightly. "Annabeth wasn't kidding when she said you were clueless!"  
Percy's fists are clenched and he takes a step forward towards the still disorientated blond. "You stay out of this!" Percy explodes all over Will, leaving him speechless. "This is between me and Nico!"  
Will looked over at me and I visibly saw him gulp in fear for me. I clench my fists and turn to face Percy. "Look, I made it perfectly clear before," if my nails are digging into my palms, I can't feel them. "I only had a crush on you. I don't anymore. That's about as juvenile as it gets!" Saying that lifts about a thousand weights off my chest. Percy however, looks like one was dropped on his head. I could almost see the steam coming out of his ears in frustration.  
"I already know that! But why this joker?" Will looked physically hurt at the comment and even gasped to add effect. His smile after cracked my tough facade. This only made Percy angrier. "You think you're so funny don't you Solace!"  
"I'm a son of Apollo. It comes with the gig!" The crack widened into a trench and I started to laugh. My facade is now completely in ruins. I laugh so hard, I need to lean on the couch back for support.  
Percy is now furious. He came here for an answer, which he never got. Sure, he may have been a jerk to Will, he knows Will means something to me. I want to punch Percy here and know, but he is still my first real friend after being brought to camp. I can't simply do that to the first person to actually take me under their wing.  
"I'm just not into you anymore! That's all! Why do you care anyways seaweed brain? You have a girlfriend who loves you just as you love her! Why can't I love Will like you love Annabeth?" I would try to explain it all to Percy, but that would take time we don't really have. Will's face adopted a red hue when I mentioned him. I grabbed his hand and we stood our ground strong in front of the brunet.  
He took a while to process what I had said and looked me in the eyes. "I understand now." He somehow managed to say with a hint to disappointment. "I guess I should be happy for you guys! You've grown up so fast Nico!" A tear ran down Percy's cheek and he wrapped me in a hug. He presses his head into my shoulder and says something along the lines of, "Just no sex until we have the talk." He lifts his head and proceeds to do the same to Will.  
Will's expression goes from panic, to the brightest shade of red I've ever seen. The blond nods quickly and throws me a glance that says, "help! He isn't letting go!" I try to get Percy off of Will, but he is clamped onto the son of Apollo like a child of Aphrodite to makeup (excluding Piper that is).  
"Whoa, okay there seaweed brain! Personal space, it's essential to a mans health!" Will plays the doctor card to get Percy off of him. Percy goes wide eyed and unclamps his hands gently from the blond and backs away slowly. He was never one to doubt anything a doctor says since Will healed Annabeth in the war against the Titans about a year and a half ago.  
"Gotcha! I'll see both of you soon enough!" The brunet winked and left Will and I alone again. We stand in the silence awkwardly and Will positions himself across the room from me, next to the door.  
He speaks first. “When were you going to tell me you originally had a thing for that big clown?” His voice is thunderous, it feels like it is shaking the whole cabin. “Am I just someone for you to rebound to because you didn’t get who you did originally?”  
I don’t know what to say. I was hoping that it wouldn’t turn out this way, but I guess it did. “Will, it’s not like this-”  
“I need an answer Nico! I can’t just let this slide!” His voice is still strong, but it begins to shake. “When were you going to tell me?”  
I open my mouth to speak but words don’t come out. At my silence, he storms through the door and runs. He runs gods know where, to get away from me, the liar. Tears start to fall. I've really fucked it up now.  
There was a small knock at the door. I don't care who it is, even if it is Percy. I may have just lost the only real relationship I may ever have. The person knocks again, this time a bit louder and more aggressive than the last. It is silent for a while, until the door to the Hades cabin is blown off of its hinges.  
Standing where there once was a door, is Lou-Ellen, accompanied by Cecil of course. "What the hell!?" I yell, tears still running down my face.  
She runs to my side and escorts me to the couch that miraculously remained unscathed.  
"Come on Nico, sit on the couch. You need to sit!" When I look at the couch, all I see is Will. He starts out happy, smiling his million-dollar smile. But as quickly as it appears, it is replaced with his scowl.  
I can't bring myself to make words. I hope that a strong shake of my head is enough for her to get, but obviously that isn't working.  
Cecil hadn't moved an inch since Lou-Ellen left his side. When he finally did, he moved in a quite charming gait. Wow, I never noticed that before. Nico! You've got more pressing things to worry about. Like if Will fucking Solace will take you back after that fiasco! Get your head out of that very attractive gutter!  
When he speaks, it is not loud, but rather quite soothing. "What's the matter Ell?" He crouches slightly in order to look me in my eyes for some reason. "Nico, you have to tell us why Solace ran like that. I haven't seen him run like that since the Titan war. You have to. You can trust us."  
Trust. That seems to be the theme for this mess. Trust. I know I can trust them. But do they really care about me? Am I still welcome here? Slow down, one life-altering question at a time.  
I nod slightly and cautiously sat down on the couch beside Lou-Ellen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be all fluff, but all these influences around me kept pointing me in this direction...


	4. E.V.O.L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how long it has been since I posted the last chapter. There is some minor violence in this chapter, just a heads up!

They do care about me. I was wrong, doubting those around me. They do care. I kept replaying these few words over and over, hoping they would lose their meaning, but the more I repeated it, the easier it rolled off my tongue, easier to misuse.  
I told them the whole story, from the beginning. When I told them about Solace and me, they didn't look the least bit surprised. In fact, Cecil said, "Will has had a huge thing for you for a while now and was wondering if you'd ever come back. He really missed you here you know." Will was happy, but then fucking seaweed brain had to mess everything up. Now Solace doesn't have me, the one he's liked for however long! All because Percy couldn't keep things to himself. Now I know for sure that I'm going to punch him.  
I finish the story and by then, I had run out of tears. Instead, Lou-Ellen was crying for me. I had no idea she is this sensitive, but the. Again, I hardly know her. "Nico," Lou starts, but is interrupted by her own sniffling. "Why would he do this to you?"  
Cecil put his arm around the girl and did his best to try to calm her. "I agree," he spoke. "I was a dick move on his part."  
They actually agree. Is this what real friends are like? Agreeing with you, not disagreeing with you. I admit, it feels pretty damn good. No matter how many so-called friends I surround myself with, there will always be a hole where Will once stood in my heart. That hole, it isn’t small. It is a chasm, unable to be filled with just any shit from the streets. No, it can only be filled Will, the one thing that I managed to throw away.  
I took a breath. Sharp, to ebb the tears. “No, it’s my fault. I should have told him about my crush on Percy. He deserved to know.” The tears stopped. The flow ended. But for how long?  
Lou Ellen moved. Ever so slightly, but with meaning. She punched me. She punched me right in the side. Hecate’s daughter is stronger than she looks. This just in, Lou Ellen can throw one hell of a right hook.  
The expression on her face looks as if she is offended by something that I said. “Don’t you say that!” She shoved me this time, showing me she means business. “He shouldn’t have just walked out on you like that!”  
“But Lou-” I began before she cut me off.  
“Don’t even start with me Nico! He should have stuck around to hear your side of the story instead of hitting the road! If Will really loves you, he will give you another chance.”  
Cecil rose again from the shadows and spoke. “He didn’t even give you a chance.” Cecil is obviously not much of a talker. He’s more of a…listener if you would. He just sits there contently listening to every word you say with that attractive face. Jeez, not again, head out of the gutter di Angelo!  
We sat for a while, before there was a knock at the door to my cabin. Cecil, the lovely darling that he is, got the door for me. He slammed the door shut just about as fast as he opened it.  
Through the closed door, Cecil yelled, “Asshole!” Just from that, I knew exactly who it was. Will.  
I practically explode from the couch towards the door. “What the hell Cecil!” I push him out of the way and violently swing open the door. “That could have been my only chance to talk to him ever again!”  
By the time I stepped out the door, Will had already disappeared into the night that snuck up on me behind my back. With my luck, he’s gone forever.

I begin my search for my probably long lost love. Will still loves me, or else he wouldn’t have come back.  
I begin my search for Will around the cabins, starting with the Apollo cabin. The lights are all off and I don’t want to disturb anyone who may be asleep, but judging from the noise coming from the inside, I knock anyways. A fit of giggles explode from the other side of the door and Austin opens the door. His face is covered with multiple shades of red lipstick. His auburn hair is so tousled beyond belief and his freckle-dotted skin is shaded a light pink.  
Kayla appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “What’s up Nico?” Her mile-wide grin helps raise my spirits a little bit.  
I scratch the back of my neck. “Um, is Will in there?” I feel my face heat up lightly.  
“Nope, haven’t seen him all evening. I wonder what he’s up to…” Kayla spoke my worst fear. If he hasn’t been seen, this search might never end.  
I search in and around all the cabins, but all I find are the happy, the cheerful and the together. Whether they be just happy with their friends or with their boyfriend or girlfriend, it is still more than what I have. All the couples were cuddling or kissing. That could have been us. I think to myself, if you didn’t fucking walk out on me! My hands are clenched at my sides. I never thought my anger could take control of me like this. I feel the anger like a ball of fire spreading through my body. From my head to my toes, I tingle from the strange feeling. Why did he think that this was a good idea? Did he know this was going to happen to me? Why me of all people?  
When I happen across the Athena cabin, Annabeth was sitting outside in front of the door. I must have made a face because she made one back at me. She never makes faces.  
She stands up and addresses me. “Nico? What are you doing out at this time?” This is when I break down.  
I stifle back tears as I tell her everything that happened from Percy walking in on Will and me, to Will walking out on me. “Hold on a minute hon.” She runs from me, but comes back rather quickly. She doesn’t come back alone though, she comes back with Percy trailing behind her. “Okay Nico, tell Percy everything you just told me. He deserves to know as well.” I forgot my fists were still clenched. I lost all control. It feels like all the pressure has been released and I am calm. I didn’t even realize my actions. All at once, Percy staggers backwards and Annabeth runs back to assist him.  
“What the absolute hell was that for?” Annabeth spoke for Percy clearly, her looks can pierce through the toughest dragon hide. She doesn’t care if he ruined me and my chances of love, she loves him so she has to defend him at all costs. I completely understand.  
“Seriously dude, what the hell?” It has literally only been like four hours! Does he have the memory of a goldfish?  
“Do you seriously not remember?! Remember when you pretty much shoved me to the side and walked into my cabin and we kinda sorted out our differences in front of my fucking boyfriend?!” I scream. I scream as if they were on the other side of the Long Island Sound. They are literally standing right in front of me. I'm broken.  
"I don't understand Nico. Why are you so upset?" I must be right about the brunet being all sorts of dumb. Now it is my turn to wear Annabeth's stare. I use the stare, wanting to pierce his soul. Poke holes in his soul and leave him.  
"You're kidding right?" Annabeth and I say in near unison. She has pulled a one-eighty on her boyfriend, turning against him, She is clearly agitated now because she almost never uses that tone of voice on Percy. The blonde looks ready to hurt the poor kid still clutching his cheek.  
"You walked into Nico's cabin and discussed with him, why he doesn't like you? Nico's fucking boyfriend overhears you two talking and fights with him afterwards about it. He storms out leaving Nico like this." I have never seen anyone get as worked up about something like this as Annabeth just did. She takes a moment to slow her breathing and steady her voice. "And you have the nerve of being so fucking oblivious!"  
She grabs my hand. Correction, I let her grab my hand. Her grip is that of a mighty python, refusing to let go of its prey. She holds it up high above her head triumphantly. Percy looks genuinely afraid. He knows of what his girlfriend is capable of when she possesses power. Even I have seen a glimpse of it and let me tell you, it isn't at all cute. It is gruesome and sometimes bloody.  
"But Annie, how was I supposed to know-"  
"Don't you Annie me Seaweedbrain. You should know better than to dwell on the past. How many times has that almost gotten you killed?" Annabeth is terrifying when angry. I love it.  
Percy diverts his eyes to the dirt at his feet. "Sorry Nico. I should have known better than to barge in like that and talk about things that I knew you would rather have not been brought up." He sounds like he is a robot. As if he had spent the whole day rehearsing those few lines in front of a mirror.  
It is my turn to wield the same power that Annabeth was just moments before. " Don't you sorry me. Sorry isn't going to cut it. Do you know what happened after you left exactly?" The power, it feels pretty good.  
"N-no. No I don't Nico." Percy almost sounds ashamed of himself now.  
"After you left," the power leaves just as quickly as it had come. "Will and I argued and he left. Nobody in his cabin has seen him since before then. I-I think he may be gone for good." I break, falling onto grass in a fit of sobs. Annabeth sits beside me holding me, comforting me, just as Lou Ellen had just maybe an hour before.  
I'm done. If we can't find Will, I don't know what I'll do. All I know is I can't do anything without apologizing to him. I just want to see his smiling face at least once more.  
The tears fade away and slowly I start to stand with a little help from the friendly neighbourhood Annabeth. Now I know for sure that there are people around me who actually value me as a person, and not think of me as that one Hades kid who mopes around all the time.  
Percy clears his throat, gathering our attention. "Nico, have you looked everywhere for Will, or have you just looked around the cabins?"  
Percy may be a dunce, but he has his brighter days. "Only around the cabins. Why?"  
The brunet sighs with relief and speaks. "Will loves to sing right? So, it would only make sense that he is by the campfire!" Annabeth looks at him with disbelief. Did Percy just manage to impress his girlfriend, daughter of Athena?  
"It's worth a shot I guess." I answer meekly and shrug my shoulders. We walk together, Percy in front and Annabeth beside me, to the bonfire pit.  
Percy had spun around and began talking to me. "So what exactly did I say made Will mad?"  
Annabeth's moves were those of a ninja. "All of them you dunce!" It turns out she slapped him, not once, but twice for good measure.  
We finally get to the pit after enduring a couple more minutes of Percy's endless whining. It must be pretty late, the fires almost out. We are never out late enough to see the flame go out. In the flame, we saw colours, one for each of us. Blue for Percy, olive for Annabeth, and a dark purple for me. In that mix of colours, there was one that wasn't claimed by the three of us. It, a bright yellow stood out from the other three.  
Apollo. It must be a child of Apollo. That means there is a chance that it's Will! My heart feels like it is going to burst. My chest feels swollen. So this is what love feels like.  
There is a sound coming from the far side of the fire. Not a loud, disruptive one, but rather one that is soft, not meant for people to hear. Like crying. Crying. Will. Oh gods, Will.  
My dark purple fire rapidly fades to a black flame, the true colour of my dad, Hades, god of the underworld; the colour of death. The yellow flame in the fire dances with the black one, almost as if coaxing it to change back to purple, to be happy again. Seeing the effort of the yellow flame, and seeing it fail to convert the black flame, but keep trying anyways gives me renewed hope. Hope for what Will and I could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I really am. The ending of this chapter was honestly real fun to write.


	5. Nicotine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for this, but this is just the way that the cards fell. So sorry!

I am both happy and sad. Happy that my hunt for Will may be finally over. Sad that he might not even take me back. I’ve never felt so alone before. Even when I first arrived at camp, I had Percy and Grover. Now, these people may not even be my friends. They would try to find convenience to get close to me. Will was the only one I genuinely let in my life. But now he’s left me alone. Isolated. I don’t like how it feels. I much prefer the warmth and comfort that came from Will’s welcoming hands.  
The yellow light in the fire is nearly completely engulfed in the black flames. Another soft cry came and the yellow is gone. Swallowed by the jet-black. The soft patter of feet follow suit. What have I done?  
“Will!” I yell into the open air and run in that general direction. I just want him back. He’s the only one that has given me a chance like that, and I let him get away. I must now try to get him back.  
I reach the beach before I run into any people. There, on the beachfront, sits a boy drenched in darkness and yearning to be alone. The bright moon comes out from behind a cloud and I can see from here that he is blond. Will. I’m running now. Right towards him. I really shouldn’t but I can’t control myself anymore. I no longer want him in my life, I need him.  
He must have heard me coming because he turned around, but just as soon as he turned around, he started to stand again.  
He walks past me and I grab his arm. “Will, wait.” He complies but he doesn’t look me in the eye.  
“What do you want Nico?” He rips his arm from my grasp. He sounds annoyed and he has every right to be. I didn’t tell him my greatest secret.  
“I want to apologize-”  
“Wait. You want to apologize? What do you have to apologize for?” He has me there. I really have nothing to apologize for. “You kept a huge secret from me and being in a relationship with someone means keeping nothing from the other person.”  
“At least let me explain-”  
“Oh, you think that you can waltz over here and try to explain all of that? It really fucking hurts that you withheld that information from me. It really does.” He looks me in the eyes. I see his cheeks are tear stained, and his eyes look on the verge of letting the teardrops stream down his face again. His eyes are sunken in and he has dark circles under them.  
“No. I’m not waltzing over here to explain anything. I want to tell you everything.” I grab his hand and I refuse to let go. “I really do like you Will, and I don’t want to leave you like this.” I really wanted to say, “and I don’t want to leave you,” but I don’t know what his reaction might be.  
I take his silence as an agreement to listen and I tell him all of it. From the beginning when Percy rescued Bianca and me from the manticore and brought us to camp. I told him exactly how much my feelings for Percy had evolved over the years.  
“I only ever first noticed you Will during the Titan war when you healed Annabeth. That was the only memory of you that sticks out in my mind. But now that this war is over, I have such stronger feelings for you than I ever did for Percy.” Is it really hot out or is it just me? Wow, this is hard to do. I am letting Will know exactly what has been running through my mind for the past two years. He is the only person in those two years I have willingly let hear my thoughts.  
“I appreciate you telling me all of this Nico, but why?” His voice is quiet and is shaking, but growing stronger.  
“You have the right to know Will.” My hand migrates to his shoulder. Woah, the doctor has muscle! Quit it Nico! This is a very serious situation, head out of the gutter!  
Will is quiet, too quiet. “Nico. I-I think I-I need some time to think about how I feel about this.” He pushes my hand away and stands up. He walks in the direction of the Apollo cabin, without looking back.  
“Wait! Will,” I call to him, stopping him in his tracks. “Does this mean you’re breaking up with me?”  
Will turns and faces me, tears streaming down his face. “I guess this is me breaking up with you. Good bye Nico.” He turns around again and continues forward.

I wake up to the bell for breakfast. How did I get here? Was that only a dream? I look around my cabin and find it void of any life besides myself. Having no luck of any sorts, I reluctantly get up and haul myself over to the dining pavilion. I see faces stare at me and hear people whisper as I pass by. I probably look more horrendous than normal.  
I grab a plate of food and proceed over to the sacrificial fire. I don’t feel like eating, hell, I don’t feel like living. I dump the whole plate into the fire and I sit at my table.  
I hear Percy calling me from his table. “Nico!” He makes his way over and sits across from me. Just like Will had.  
“Hey.” I answer, hardly finding the voice to.  
His eyes narrow and he leans over the stone-laid table. “What happened last night?” I rest my head on my arms on the table. “Oh no. Annabeth!” Percy calls over the many tables to his blonde girlfriend.  
She perks up at the sound of his voice and calls back, “What Percy?”  
“Come here. It’s urgent.” Her head of light blonde curls appears over the heads of those sitting. She makes her way over to the table quickly and sits down beside me.  
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “What’s the matter Nico? Did everything work out last night?” I shake my head in my arms and slowly the tears start to pool in my eyes. “Oh my gods Nico. What did Will do to you last night?”  
I lift my head from my arms, exposing the tears to the public. “He broke up with me.” I slam my head back to my arms and I let go. I don’t care who watches me cry anymore. I need to let it out, these emotions that I have been trying so hard to keep to myself all these years.  
“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m here for you.” Annabeth is practically draped over me now. She has grown more emotional since I first met her. Maybe it’s with age, or maybe it’s something else.  
“Just go away. I want to be alone.” I stand and begin towards the Hades cabin.  
“Fine. Just know that we’re here for you, okay?” She catches my hand and doesn’t let go until she’s sure that her message has gone through my head.  
In my cabin, I collapse. I fall into the inevitable misery that comes with breakup. I find myself curled up on my bed in the foetal position. The tears are continually coating my cheeks with no signs of letting up. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I just need someone to hold me. I should have not pushed Annabeth away so readily.  
There is a knock at the door. The tears are painful now. How long have I been like this? I am a wreck. I try to compose myself to the best of my abilities and answer the door. There on the other side, stands Hazel. Her golden eyes aren’t the bright, happy hue that they normally are. Instead, they almost match the description of brown.  
“Nico,” she raises her hand and wipes a couple tears from my eyes. Her hand lingers on my face and she caresses my cheek. “I got word of what happened. How could he do this to you?”  
I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, into the tightest hug I think I can muster at this point. “I don’t know. I don’t know how he can live with himself knowing I’m like this!”  
“Well,” Hazel pats me on the back reassuringly and looks me in the eye. “I’m not leaving until this is sorted out and you are happy again.”  
“Fine” I say with fake sarcasm and I smile. A real smile, the first one since before this whole ordeal began. “I mean technically you are a child of Hades. So you can stay as long as you like.”  
“If you insist N.” That is a nickname that only Hazel uses, and she only uses it when something is wrong. I wonder to myself what it could be, but then I remember that her half-brother is going through a breakup, that’s what’s wrong. “But I’m serious about not leaving.” Hazel doesn’t try to fix Will and me. She just sits next to me and comforts me. She just wants me to be happy. This is why she is the best half-sister that I can ever ask for.  
We’ve spent a good hour sitting together and talking. I’ve told her all the good things that’s happened to me including what happened between Will and I before, well…you know.  
“Well N, I need to catch up with Piper. I bet a lot has happened to her.” Hazel moves as to stand, but before she gets the chance, I wrap her in one last hug.  
“Thank you Hazel. I think I’m okay now.” I manage to pull a weak smile to show my progress towards being happy.  
“I’ll still be here at camp just in case you do need me. If and when you do, just holler for me, okay?” She actually gets up this time and exits the Hades cabin, leaving me alone. This time, I don’t feel alone. It still feels as if I have another person in the room who is constantly comforting me.  
I feel my eyes start to droop shut again. Do I dare let them close?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking next chapter will be in Will's point of view, just to switch things up a bit. I promise things will get better between the two of them. I promise!


	6. Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!

I can't believe it, actually, I can't believe him. I can't believe that Nico would do such a thing to me. Hold back one of his greatest secrets from the one person who loves him back. I know his doctors chart says that he is emotionally detached and that he has been ever since Bianca's death, but he has to share those emotions with someone. Just who though...  
There's always the possibility that he shares with Hazel, her being his sister and all. But it can't be her, she's too soft-hearted for whatever Nico has going on (or at least that's what I've observed so far, I hardly know anything about her personally).  
When the troupe of heroes arrived, I noticed Nico stayed rather close to Jason's side. Could he know about Nico's feelings and actions as well as maybe telling me a thing or two about keeping Nico happy. With my luck though, Nico probably has a small thing for Jason as well. What is with that boy and falling in love with straight boys with girlfriends when I've been here the whole god-damn time?  
Suddenly a scream echoes through camp and interrupts my thoughts. The scream is familiar, but where have I heard it before? Wait, I know exactly where. It's the same scream that Nico gave a couple nights ago. It's Nico. He might be in trouble. I have to help him. Differences aside, he needs me.  
I rush as fast as I can to Cabin 13, manoeuvring around the confused people who had gathered in crowds around the cabin. I burst through the door and I found Hazel sitting next to a catatonic Nico on the couch. He didn't seem to respond to anything that she was saying to him and I could see that Hazel was starting to get worried.  
Hazel caught sight of me and exclaimed, "Will! I need your help!" and when I got closer to her, she whispered to me, "He needs you." She stands up so I can take her spot on the couch next to Nico. Almost instantly, Nico collapses sideways into me in a fit of tears. He's balled his fists into my shirt and planted his roots. I'm not moving for a while I can guarantee that. I don't move. I don't object to it. I just let it happen.  
After what seemed like forever, Nico eventually quit crying. How long it actually was, I have no clue. Time for me isn't as it actually is in the Hades cabin. I look down at Nico and I see him already looking up at me. I offer a smile and he diverts his eyes away, his face glowing with a red tinge. As if on cue, my own face heats up as well.  
Without a second to spare, Nico speaks. "Thank you," was all he said. He then burrows his face deeper into my shoulder. I feel him take in a deep breath as he sinks back, further and further into his realm of sleep. Gods he looks peaceful when he sleeps. Like none of the things that have happened to him ever did. He looks instead more like the innocent boy that Percy brought to camp than a boy who trudged through Tartarus alone. He looks peaceful, perfect if you would, and I, I am tired. I did absolutely nothing and yet I'm tired.  
I fight to keep my eyes open. I don't want to sleep with Nico again. Well, maybe, if we ever get this sorted out.  
Hazel walks back into the room and the look on her face is priceless. She stood in the doorway with her jaw on the carpeted floor. "How did you do that?" She was genuinely perplexed. "He wouldn't even respond to a thing I said."  
I shrugged in response. "I did nothing. This was all Nico."  
Hazel's eyebrows are raised as if saying "yeah right," but her mouth said different. She said, "If you say so. I'm just going to let you two have your moment-" She spun on her heels as to leave, but paused when I called her name.  
"No Hazel! I have to go! I abandoned a patient I was in the middle of giving stitches to! Plus, I think he'd rather see you than me when he wakes up." I start to stand up, careful to assist Nico's head down to the seat cushion without waking him up.  
Hazel's hands are on her hips and she is nodding slightly as she walks past me and sits down beside the son of Hades, taking my spot. I step out of the cabin and campers are staring at me. As I walk by, I hear them whisper things like "What happened?" and, "-but I heard they broke up." I ignore them the best I could and made a beeline for the infirmary.  
As I suspected, the camper was still sitting patiently with the thread and needle still attached to her arm. "He's alive" she said sarcastically. "What the hell was that all about?"  
I sat on the stool next to her and sighed. "Well, I thought it was someone who got hurt." I continued on with her stitches.  
"Well who was it?" She said, baring her teeth and fighting the pain.  
"Nico" I say with a slight bitter tone, which is hard to do when you are concentrating and you might still have a major minor crush on him. "He had a really bad dream or something and I thought it was something a bit more extreme than that."  
"What happened to you two anyways?" She asks the question I knew she would eventually. I huff and sit back down beside her. Do I want to spare her the details, or let her bare witness to the whole thing? I decide on the previous option, probably saving her from having a sympathetic episode.  
"We had a misunderstanding and a disagreement, and we broke up." Her eyes bore into mine, as if she know something that I don't.  
"You guys would have been such a cute couple. Too bad you broke up." She examines my handiwork on the inside of her arm, not looking me in the eye.  
"Really? We were cute together?"  
"Yes you guys really were." She stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. "Now go get him back before he's gone forever. He also doesn't have a thing for the other blond. Your welcome." She swung open the door of the infirmary and disappeared into the mass of people before I could catch her and interrogate her. Wait, I didn't recognize that camper, I know all the campers. Damn! That was probably Aphrodite up to her usual stuff again! And yet again I have been tricked by a goddess!  
I clean up my used instruments, but I can't focus anymore. Is what she said true? Does Nico really only like me? Or is she only saying that to make me one of her love struck puppets? I sigh, quite audibly, and turn to the examining bench and hop on. I lay on top of the protective paper that crinkles rather loudly and I cringe. Too much noise, I need some sleep.  
I feel absolutely drained, and I have no idea why. I feel my eyes start to drift shut but I force them to stay open. No sleep Solace! Not now! You have more important things to ponder than sleep!  
Should I talk to Nico? Would he even remember his little episode from earlier? I mean, the kid was pretty much asleep to begin with, so my guess is no. Everyone keeps telling me that Nico still wants me, but how can I be sure of that? I mean, we did rush into this relationship a bit fast...  
I rest my head on the designated pillow in the same table covered with the same paper and I feel myself start to let go. One tear, then another, and another, each take their turns running down my cheek. I am breathing in heavier now, in deep wretches, and soon enough I'm sobbing. I can't believe the first person I got romantically involved with, that had the same feelings, I turned away because he used to have some feelings for a guys he no longer does. How selfish can I get?  
Realizing that there are still people running around outside and they might here me sobbing, I quiet and try to stop crying, or at least for now. I once again feel my eyelids droop over my eyes and this time I let them close, and hope that they are closed for good this time.

I open my eyes and I find myself no longer in the infirmary. I instead find myself somewhere I've never been before, at least I think I haven't been here. There are enough broken pillars scattered around to build a temple. Gods, this is Olympus, still in shambles from the Titan war a year ago. Good thing Annabeth is redesigning this place, because it could use some TLC.  
Sitting on one of the pillars that have been tipped over, was a man. No, not a man, a god. He catches me looking at him and calls me over. I approach with subtle caution. I don't know if this is Hades or if it is Dad they could really be anyone for all I know.  
When I do reach him, he pulls me in for a hug. "Son! So good to see you!" Hmm...son. Hades is definitely out of the question. "So sad to hear what happened between you and Nico. Maybe you two just weren't meant to be together after all!"  
"I think he was my only one Dad." I feel the tears coming on again and I try to act as tough as possible in front of my Dad. You know what, I give up trying to hide my feelings from people. I wrap my arms around the sun god as hard as I can and I let it out. I let out every fear, every bottled up emotion I have ever had and I let it out, all on my Dad's shoulder.  
"Will, snap out of it. I know your stronger than this." He peeled me from his body and held me at an arms length away. He propped a hand under my chin and forced me to look into his brilliant sapphire eyes. "I knew you would say something like that, so I brought someone with me."  
Literally from a cloud of smoke, a hooded figure appeared beside my father. They put down their hood and revealed a head of bouncy chocolate curls and menacing eyes. Hecate.  
"Come child, let me show you the cross roads." She held out a hand to me. What crossroads? I don't see any crossroads. Instead of waiting for me to grab her hand, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me in with her. In where, I don't know, but we are enveloped in fog. No, not fog, mist.  
"This way child."she spoke out to me with her haunting voice and began pulling me down a path. The farther we go down the path, the more developed the vision is around us. The landscape keeps morphing and remorphing until it looks like Camp Half-Blood. So this is how powerful the mist is. Even all the smaller details are included like the sword gashes that are scattered all over the buildings.  
I am completely mesmerized by the buildings that I don't notice the people that begin to funnel into my vision.  
"Wow this is truly amazing Hec-" I glance over to where Hecate should be, where my hand is still being held, only a bit more gingerly now. In place of the goddess, stands Nico. Not the pale, scowling Nico that everyone knows, but rather a tanned, smiling boy who's not afraid of what's to come. My heart starts beating faster and I can start to feel my hands start to clam-up as I have other things course through my mind.  
Suddenly, we snap to Half-Blood Hill and the sun is setting, creating a watercolour masterpiece of reds, pinks and oranges in the sky. We aren't the only ones to see it either. Percy has his arm around Annabeth and Jason mimics the same action with Piper.  
"Its beautiful, isn't it?" Nico has to stand on his tip-toes in order to whisper it in my ear. He uses this as an excuse to pull me down to the same height as him. "Let's sit." He drops the rest of the way down and pats expectedly at the patch of grass beside him. I waste no time in filling that space beside him.  
We sit and watch as the variety of colours in the sky fade away and the pale light of the moon and stars take their place. I somehow manage to make the words "First star" form in my mouth. By now, the others have all gone and joined the rest of the camp for the bonfire.  
"My wish has come true already." Nico looks me in the eye. "At least not quite anyways." He leans in as to kiss me. Wait, he's going to kiss me! I lean in as to fill the gap between us, and just before our lips collide, everything goes black.  
I find myself back at the crossroads, only blessed by Hecate's grand appearance.  
I sigh for like the fiftieth time today. "Why did you pull me out? I was enjoying it so much."  
Hecate's golden eyes are clouded and distant, like she's not actually here with me right now. "That is only one of the crossroads child, now you need to see the other." She grabs my hand and begins in the opposite direction of the other, clearly more pleasant path.  
We wander for a while, the path twists and winds into nothing, until there is something. We are back at Camp Half-Blood again, except this time, it isn't nice out at all. This time, it is miserable. There is absolutely no sun to be seen, only clouds drooping low enough to warrant rain. Everyone looks like their moping. I see Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Lou Ellen and Cecil all crying. I run as fast as my legs will carry me over to where they are.  
"What's the matter guys?" I say out of breath. Man, I need to get into shape.  
"Why do you care. You were no good to him, and look at where he is now." Hazel fights back more tears and points across the small clearing. At the end of my gaze, I see a shrine of some sort. I wander over and find pictures of Nico gracing it. The last time I saw a shrine like this, it was when Charles and Silena died. No, this can't be happening. Theirs was decorated much like this one. Oh gods, what happened to Nico?  
I drop to my knees. Was this me? Did I cause him to do this? There is a note sitting at the base of the shrine that I swear wasn't there like two seconds ago. I pick it up and it has my name written in a neat scrawl, so I start reading it. Oh gods, this is a suicide note, this isn't the first one I've seen either. Across the bottom, it was signed, "I still love you Will, and I will for all eternity -Nico."  
That hits the hammer on the head. The floodgates break and I cry. I cry as if I hadn't in years. Giant tears leap from my cheeks and onto the paper, smudging the ink so it is no longer readable.  
Everything begins to swirl together and around me in a cyclone. Hecate apparates in front of me and lifts my chin up to her face. Her golden eyes look and stare right into mine. "Do you see what you must do child?" She lets go and disappears along with the mist.  
I am back at Olympus now, and. I am in pieces. Hecate is gone now, but in her place stands Artemis and Aphrodite beside my dad. I try to compose myself, but it is never as easy as they let on to be.  
"It's alright Will." Aphrodite puts her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you guys will work your way out of this rough patch."  
"I agree with her." Artemis speaks up from her place beside her brother. "Men deserve love, just not from me or my hunters. I wish you luck on your hunt Will." and she disappears with a flash.  
"For once, she is right. You deserve him, and he deserves you." Aphrodite also disappears with a flash, leaving me alone with the god of the sun.  
He looks at me with his arms folded across his chest. I can't stop crying. "What possessed you to become so selfish Will?" He crossed the clearing to where I was still kneeling. "You're a healer Will, you have to put others before yourself." Dad then kneels on the ground across from me.  
I-I don't know what I was thinking. I-It's just that he kept a big secret from me and I though it was something important enough to share with your-" I pause, letting the wave pass over. "-boyfriend."  
Apollo sat and thought a moment before responding. "A maybe he wanted to keep his past feelings in the past, and let himself focus on what's in front of him."  
"D-do you think so?"  
"Son," he smiles at me. "I know so." He holds out a hand and helps me stand up.  
"But how Dad? How do I even approach trying to win Nico back?"  
Now I see Apollo's true side. "Write him a song, write him a haiku, hell, shoot him with an arrow. I just want you to be happy, okay Will?" There's the Dad I grew up with and hardly tolerated. He knows that I can't sing or write poetry of any sort at all. And I'm NOT going to shoot anything at Nico.  
"Wait Dad, how is this happening?" I gesture all around us. "How are you able to talk to me like this?"  
"You can thank Hypnos for this one." Apollo points over to a pile of rubble and there is Hypnos, lying on top of it.  
He grumbles and waves us away. "Yeah whatever. You'll thank me one day. Good luck with your endeavours Will."  
"Will do sir!" I call over and walk away with my Dad.  
"Okay son, do you know what you have to do?" Asks and I nod feverously in response. "Now all you have to do is...WAKE UP!"

I sit up and I am out of breath. So I was asleep through all that chaos, all that chaos never really happened. I look around the room and I see I am still in the infirmary. I breathe a sigh of relief and I sit up. sigh with short-lived relief, now that I am conscious, I need to find Nico and tell him how I really feel. Now, what's the best way to win back a guy that you dumped? But what if he's already moved on? Found someone else who gives him everything I did and more? What if he's- I stop myself right there. I need to stop degrading myself. In the crossroads, Hecate showed that Nico is happy when with me, so he probably hasn't given up. The other crossroad showed Nico dead, a suicide. In his note however, it said he loves me and will for all eternity. I need to get him back before the second crossroads even thinks of happening. I can't even think of a world without Nico. Well, I can, but I choose not to emotionally ravage myself.  
I hop off the hospital bed only to almost fall down. Damn legs, always falling asleep! Standing up again, I steady myself and wait for the snowy television feeling in my legs to subside. Once gone, I run in leaps and bounds to the Hades cabin.  
I burst through the door, and instead of Nico, I am greeted by the other blond in his life, Jason. "Woah, hey Will! What's the rush?"  
"Do you know where Nico is?" I am out of breath. Maybe running wasn't such a great idea.  
"I was just looking for him myself. Come Will, walk with me." Jason gestures outside and I follow behind gingerly. He notices and looks back at me and smiles. "Come up here beside me, I don't bite." I take the one extra step forward and hold my breath as we walk in unison toward the beach.  
At first we don't talk, but then Jason spins and grabs my shoulders, expression firm. "What did you do to Nico?"  
"I didn't do anything." I tell him with an emotionless expression. I then proceed to tell him about the predicament that led to our relationship's demise.  
"Dude, you realize that you're like the fourth person he's told about his crush on Percy, right?"  
"Wait, really? I thought he was open about that with you guys." I stand astonished at the information I was receiving.  
"No he wasn't. I was the first one who found out, and Nico didn't do it voluntarily either. He was forced into saying who he liked by Eros, I-I mean Cupid." Jason clarifies and now it all makes sense, why he didn't want to tell me as well as his avoidance of Percy and not Annabeth. "What you did was extremely selfish Will."  
"I know, I know," I roll my eyes. "I know what i have to do now."  
"Do you now?" The blond's hands are on his hips. He goes off, spitfiring questions about Nico. I try my best to answer each question, and I think he's making some of these things up. Nico's half-cousin sure is protective.  
"Jason! Stop!" I can't handle any more questions. "I can handle this!"  
"If you insist..." Jason starts to turn around before Piper comes bounding towards the two of us.  
"Hey guys! I heard all the commotion, what's going on?" Jason tells his girlfriend about what we were talking about.  
Pipers face perked up towards the end. "Ooh! I have some things you could do to get Nico back!"  
I roll my eyes again and respond. "What is it Pipes?" She steps forwards and pulls me away from Jason and we walk in the direction of the Big House.  
"So what do you have?" I ask and I immediately regret asking. She holds me with an iron grip and starts spewing one idea after another.  
"-or you could sneak out of camp with him and go on a real date!" She probably could have kept going if it weren't for my hand firmly planted over her mouth.  
"Piper! I get it!" I stare her down and an idea comes to me. I know exactly what I'm doing and how I'm going to win Nico back! "I know what I'm going to do now! Thank you for the inspiration!" I leave her standing alone with her mouth hanging ajar.  
Her dumbfounded look was over in no time flat. "Oh! Well good luck Will!" Once she spins around to find her boyfriend, I run as fast as my feet will carry me, faster than before now with a newly renewed spirit. Maybe there is still hope for what is between Nico and me.  
It feels as if my legs won't stop. I run all the way to the Hades cabin. I stop outside and compose myself. Everything about this has to be perfect, I do want him back after all. Once my heart rate slows to normal, and the redness of my face goes down, I step through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we will be back to Nico!


	7. House of Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit it feels like it's been forever since I've updated! Naturally school did start up again and I've been distracted taking care of my own mental health. We are in fact back to Nico's point of view, but I might try flip-flopping between points of view for the rest of this fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

From past experiences, I've learned that silence kills. Not the kind of death that comes with old age or from a quick shot taken at you, where you feel next to no pain. Instead, it is slow and agonising, like bleeding out or being stabbed. The pain I still feel from Bianca's death is still agonising after all these years, and the recent events brought those memories back on top of my pile.  
Before I started talking with Will, nobody knew of these feelings I was having and I kept them hidden, only to be seen by me after dark alone. Being with Will has made me more open about my issues, but that doesn't change the past, the dead are still dead.  
A stray tear runs down my face and lands on my hand, effectively derailing my train of thought. I take a look around my cabin and take in the surroundings. Wow, how did I ever allow myself to design my cabin like this? I let out a small chuckle and a voice speaks up from the doorway.  
"What's so funny di Angelo?" I jump in my seat, not expecting anybody to be watching me during my inner monologue. Especially not a certain green eyed demigod.  
"N-nothing," I avoid making eye contact with Percy at all costs, and really focus on the hideously patterned wallpaper.  
"Are you laughing at me?!" Percy's voice sounds hurt, offended even. I spin around quickly and flash him my famous deadpan death glare. "Okay, okay, nothing was funny. Look, do you want to go for a walk?"  
"Why are you so interested in me all of a sudden?" The other demigod crosses the room and grips both of my shoulders, forcing me to look in his direction.  
"Just will you go on a walk with me?" He scratches the back of his neck. "Please, I-I need to sort some things out with you that's all."  
I look Percy in his deep, mesmerising green eyes. They scream with many adventures, but they also scream with a lot of loss. Because of his quests he lost many friends, many friends he probably trusted. Now I have to trust him.  
"O-okay, I'll, I'll go for a walk with you." I walk out of my cabin and Percy follows suit. We walk out of the ring of cabins and towards the beach. Passing by the cabins, I see pairs of curious eyes watching us pass by. Campers still out whisper amongst themselves and stare at us walk by.  
Once our feet start to sink into the soft sand on the beach, Percy stops me. "Look, Nico, I'm sorry about what has happened the past few days. I really didn't mean to get in the way of anything."  
"You don't have to apologise for anything, things just didn't work out between Will and me." I redirect my eyes to my feet, no longer having the strength to keep my head up. Saying that everything didn't work out doesn't sit right on my tongue or in my stomach. Deep down, I know that the real reason of what happened was me and Percy, but I won't let him know that.  
"No." Percy stands his ground. "I know for a fact that it has all been my fault. I shouldn't have made a big deal about, well, you know. If I hadn't, you guys would be together still and now I feel like a jackass."  
"You don't have to feel like a jackass, it's not all your fault." It doesn't feel right to use that coarse of language, but I have to to get my point across.   
"It's also my fault." I look up the sand, where Percy's relentless gaze was awaiting mine. "If I would have been honest with Will from the beginning, we wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place." He places a hand on my arm, holding me firmly in place.  
"Nico, don't be so hard on yourself, I should've just minded my own business." He keeps eye contact with me. "Believe me, it's really my fault." I try to walk away, but Percy's grip on my sweater is like a vice.  
"Whatever Jackson, could you just let me go, I-I just don't-" I start stutter, and I feel my hands start to clam-up. Percy lets go immediately and gives my a couple feet of space. He keeps a stoic look to him, but his eyes still show how much he cares for me. I don't care anymore if it isn't romance anymore, I just want to know him.  
"Shit, sorry. Just tell me if you need space, I know you went through hell, like, literal hell."  
"Well Tartarus, not hell. If we went to hell, we would've seen my dad."  
Percy punches my shoulder lightly. "Was that a joke di Angelo?" His smile lifts a thousand weights off my back and I let out a little smile. "AND a smile?! Who are you and what did you do to Nico?"  
My smile grows and I fell a bubble rising in my chest. It bursts and I'm laughing. Laughing as if I had never laughed before. I haven't laughed like this in a long time, not since Bianca died.  
"Now there's the Nico that I remember! Come here!" He extends his arms outwards to me and hugs me. His sudden movements catch my by surprise and suck in a deep breath. It's okay Nico, it's only a hug from a friend. I exhale and proceed to wrap my own arms around the dark-haired boy.  
"Thank you for this Percy, I needed it." I can feel his heart beating, but it's not beating for me, but rather for Annabeth.  
"Everything will go back to normal, I promise."  
"I damn hope so." He releases me and we slowly make our way back to my cabin, talking the entire trek there.  
We stop outside Cabin 13. "Anyways," Percy is the first to start terminating our conversation. "I should probably head back to my cabin."  
"No!" I blurt out quickly. "I insist you come in and sit for a little." I scratch the back of my neck. Was that too forward?  
"Hmm," Percy ponders the question. "Alright, but only for a little, Annabeth will worry about me again!" We step through the door of Cabin 13 and I pretty much scream. My scream causes Percy to jump  
Sitting on the couch inside my cabin is Will. "What the hell William?" I am pretty much yelling as I storm over to him.  
"Look Nico," Will stands, with renewed confidence. "I just need to talk to you. We need to make things right again." When he says that, my expression softens and I take a step away from him.  
The dark-haired demigod still standing at the door speaks next. "I'm just going to leave you two here to sort things out." he then proceeds to make finger guns and point them at me. "Nico, if you need to talk to me, you know where to find me." Percy exits leaving the clearly distressed son of Apollo and me here alone.  
"What in the world made you think that coming into my cabin when I'm not here acceptable?"  
"I-I just needed to talk to you is all." No eye contact. He's literally looking like right beside me, but not at me. Ugh, do I let him?  
"Fine," I can't really say no to him. "What do you have to say?" He pats at the seat beside him and I roll my eyes, but proceed to sit anyways.  
"I was think about you earlier today." was all Will could say.  
"And?" I proceed to stand. "If that's all you have to say for yourself, then I'm going!" I feel my eyes well-up with tears and I tread towards the door.  
Will is quick to his feet and grabs my by my hand. His hand colliding with mine causes a spark, a slow release of warmth throughout my body. I feel myself start to relax.  
"I wasn't done ghost king!" Will is looking me directly in my eyes now. His eyes are a deep, mesmerising sapphire colour that could fool nearly anyone into believing what they have to say.  
I take the risk. "Then what do you have to say Solace?" He leads me back to the couch, keeping a firm grasp on my hand until we're sitting down again.  
"Okay, so I was thinking about what happened and I can't help but say that it is all my fault. I did not put enough of my faith in you. Maybe I'm just not cut out to love anyone..." Will takes his own hand from mine and sets it on his lap, his thousand-yard stare effectively puts me in a panic. I have seen that stare and it never ends well.  
"Will, it's not your fault. I should have told you about my crush on Percy at the beginning, but I didn't. I knew how you'd react to it and I didn't want it to hurt yo-"  
"Well it did Nico! It hurt me a lot!" Our eye contact reconnects and I see pain, hurt in his eyes. Behind the wall of tears, I see reminiscent pieces of when we were happy together.  
"Like I said Will, this is my fault!" I repeat myself, this time out of frustration. "The longer we dwell on this, the more I wish that the whole incident with Percy would have never happened. If I could, I would go back in time and prevent the whole thing from happening, so I could still be with you."  
"R-really?" Will sniffles, trying to avoid crying more. "You would do that for me?"  
I take his hand in mine and lace my fingers between his. "Of course I would Will. Being without you in that short time felt like hell, I can't imagine living without you for the rest of my life." I squeeze my hand in our knot of fingers and he responds by squeezing back.  
I readjust our hand situation so I can actually sit comfortably beside Will and I feel my face slowly start to heat up. I look up at Will's face and I see that he has also turned a handsome shade of cherry-red. I giggle slightly and tilt my head upwards. My lips connect lightly with his cheek and that contact spreads a fuzzy sensation throughout my body again, and clearly Will's as well, as his face morphs from cherry-red to bright firetruck.  
Will unclasps our hands and puts his arm around me. I take it as an open invitation to sprawl all over him. I lay my head on his lap and he immediately closes his arms around me as if he were expecting it, and we sit like this, reunited at long last.  
“So, now what do we do?” I ask to break the deafening silence.  
“Want to go for a walk?” Will asks lightly. “I missed you you know.” My eyes widen slightly, he missed me?  
“Sounds good Solace, lets go.” I wait for him to shuffle first so I don’t end up awkwardly elbowing him or anything. Soon enough, the built blond is on his feet.  
“You know you can let go, right?” He still had his hand suctioned to mine, refusing to let go.  
“I’m not letting go. The last time I did, well, you remember.” He sort of grimaced and pulled me up with him. He pulls me up too fast for my feet to keep up and I slam into him.  
This surprise attack put him off balance and he falls backwards, still not letting go, so naturally, I fall on top of him. We both burst out into laughter, real laughter.  
Face to face, chest to chest, I am seeing him not as just Will, but my boyfriend. My fucking boyfriend. I put my hand on his chest and I can feel his heart practically beating out of his chest. His heart beats for me and nobody else. He really did miss me.  
My breaths become elongated and everything around us appears to move through syrup. My head slowly drifts towards his and I sense him reaching up in anticipation.  
Someone bursts through the door right before we do though. “NICO!!” Hazel, of course. “Nico? I swear I saw you come in here not forty-five minutes ago!” She walks in and searches for me. When she looks down at the the floor and her eyes discover the pile of living bodies, she jumps back a little and begins rapid-firing apologies.  
“Hazel,” I stand up and look her properly in the eyes. “It’s alright, nothing happened,-“  
“Well it sure looked like something was going to happen if nothing happened already!” Hazel narrowed her eyes at me. “Wait, weren’t you two taking a break from each other?”  
“Exactly,” I say matter-of-factly. “We ‘were', 'not anymore'.” Will sits himself on the heels of his hands and nods his head in agreement.  
“Ri-ight” The darker skinned girl in front of us is suspicious, I know it. She spins on her heels back to the door. “Well, I’m going to leave you two to whatever it was that you were doing.”  
“See you later Hazel!” I call to her, but she doesn’t respond, but I saw what looked like a bright smile across her face.  
“So,” Will rests a finger under my chin and turns it so he can look at my face. “Where were we?” He grabs me around my waist and pulls me down with him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have stuck around this long, I would like to thank each and every one of you that read this. Without you guys, this wouldn't have been as big of a success to me as it is! So, thank you!


	8. Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a while since I posted last! But here it is, another chapter chock-full of Solangelo fluff!

"Come on Nico, get off me!" Will complains. I then proceed to latch onto him like a koala to a tree branch. "You've got to be joking!"  
"Nope! And I'm not letting go either!" I giggle from my post at Will's side. Will also laughs and I feel each broken laugh like an earthquake inside of him. It feels good to have him, like I have lost a ball and chain from around my ankle.  
"Alright, but you're forcing this upon yourself!" Will makes a quick move and the world feels like its tipping on it's side. With a jolt, the tipping stops, and I find myself no longer attached to Will's side, but rather I'm laying on top of him, my head resting on his chest.  
"Why did you ruin my fun?"  
"Oh believe me, your fun isn't over yet!" I feel a push and the wind is knocked out of me and I'm back-up on the floor.  
"Will! You sonofa-" I couldn't finish my sentence before I find the blond positioned overtop me in like a push-up.  
"I told you," Will states matter-of-factly. "Your fun isn't over yet!" He does one push-up and brushes his lips against mine before going back up again. He does another, but before he has the chance to evade me again, I quickly clasp my hands behind his neck and pull him down to me.  
"Not this time, sunshine!" Will's smile radiates through the room and all dour energy here is expelled.  
"Gods, I missed this Nico" his hand gravitates to mine and our hands slide together, fingers interlocked with near perfection. "And I hope I never do again." Will rests his forehead on mine and we just lay there, taking in what we have become once again. I'm hoping that we never have to get up from this floor no matter how uncomfortable it may be, just so I know that Will won't leave my side.  
We lay there silent for a good ten minutes before Will breaks the silence. "Do you want to do something?"  
"Like what?" I sit up on my elbow. I don't care what he says next, I'm in.  
"Wanna go look at the stars?" I don't respond, just start sitting up and pulling him up behind me. "I'm going to take that as a yes then!"  
Once we're both off the floor and out the door, we are greeted by not one, not two, but three familiar figures.  
"Soo, how did it go?" Piper. Of course it had to be Piper.  
"Just fine Piper, could you guys give us some space? And I know that's you Percy and Jason." I hear Percy curse under his breath and Jason calling him out on it as they walk away, leaving Piper alone with the two of us.  
"That's so exciting! I can't wait to start planning double dates and triple dates and parties and-" Piper starts rambling off multiple things which I've never heard of, and judging by the grip Will has on my hand, neither has he.  
"Woah, slow down there Pipes. Let's take things slowly for now." Will speaks for the two of us, and I hear a groan from the body in front of us.  
"Fine, be boring then!" I can't believe the sass that Piper is throwing at us. She spins around and joins the duo that dismissed themselves earlier.  
Once we were sure that Piper was out of range, we regained full mobility. I was the first to speak. "What's a Kai Kai anyways?" I ask, after a moment of silence, Will laughs.  
"That's the beauty of it! I don't know either!" I hit him on his arm playfully and he shuts up quickly.  
"Come on, let's look at the stars while it's still clear" I drag Will over to the strawberry field and knowing exactly how many couples there are at camp, looked for the "date bench". After the war and after Leo had returned, he took it upon himself to build a "date bench" at all the potential places for a date. There is one at the strawberry field, one at the beach and one at the top of the hill by the pine tree.   
Let's just say I didn't have to pull Will very hard towards the bench, which sure enough, was strategically placed in the strawberry field for "maximum dateness," as Leo put it.  
"Perfect." Will says breath-taken. He isn't looking up at the sky, but rather at me. I'm glad that it's dark enough that he can't see that I'm blushing redder than any of the strawberries in this field.   
We take our seats on the bench and watch the firefly-like lights in the sky. They appear to dance and swirl in patterns right above our heads, a light show for us and only us. I feel a jolt from my hand resting on the bench, and my hand is encased in Will's. I twist and manoeuvre my hand so our fingers interlock and I scoot closer, resting my head on the shoulder of the blond stationed at my side. Closer to Will, the stars are brighter, almost closer to the son of Apollo. I listen to his breathing, clear and consistent, and I let my own fall in line. Peace there is finally peace in my life.  
Slowly I start to feel my eyes start to drift shut, and this time, I let myself, knowing that nothing is wrong and nothing could be as long as I am beside Will. I feel Will shift and slight touch on the top of my head, a kiss. A gentle kiss for me and no one else. With my thoughts flooded with light and gentle Will kisses, I drift into slumber.

I awake to the meal bell, back in my own bed, this time, an arm wrapped defensively around my chest. Will. Wait, when did I get back to my cabin?  
"So it wasn't all a dream" I whisper so Will doesn't hear. I gently roll to face the blond and all I am able to do is watch. He looks peaceful in his sleep, like nothing ever happened between us and his life has never been hell.  
I kiss him on the nose and I watch as a smile creeps across Will's face and his eyes open slightly.  
"Morning sunshine" I say and he tugs tighter on his arm still around me.  
"Morning ghost king" he responds lightly.  
"Did you really carry me here from the field last night?" I accuse and Will proceeds to smile again.  
"Of course I did, I was nothing really" he plays it off like it was nothing, but I just stare at him incredibly.  
"Nothing my ass, you carried me across camp!"  
"Sure, but you looked uncomfortable, and I wanted you to be comfortable, so I moved you to your bed." He's so adorable, he was thinking of me even while like half asleep on the "date bench".  
"Come on," I say before kissing him and freeing myself from his iron grip. "Let's go get some breakfast."  
After many groans from Will (and a few from myself as well), we make it to the dining pavilion dressed and ready for the day. Everybody is milling around, between their table and the sacrifice fire. Will and I each grab a plateful, sacrifice one thing each and both take a seat at my table.  
"I liked last night" I say, and Will looks up from his plate.  
Will's blank expression develops into a slight grin. "I knew you would love it, just about as much as I love you." My eyes divert down to my plate and my cheeks burn red-hot. But just as soon as that sweet moment happened, it was ruined by cousins, but when isn't it cousins here?   
"Hey Nico!" Percy calls from his table. When he sees that I don't want to notice him, he gets up from his table and saunters over and sits beside Will. "What's up?"  
"Hey Percy." Will interjects, returning his attention to the food still on his plate.  
"Hey," I say in the direction of the brunet. "Not a whole lot is 'up' with me, what's 'up' with you?"   
"Same old routine as yesterday, but let's talk about you guys shall we?"  
"No 'we' shall not. Now can you let me eat in peace?" I shut him down straight out of the gate. I don't want this to be such a big deal. What happened before was treated with so much heat and I don't want another episode like that again. Percy gives me his trademark puppy-dog eyes, which I meet with my cold death glare which never fails to win.  
"Fine, but expect at least a follow-up from Annabeth or someone" Percy retreats back to his table in retreat.  
Will takes his eyes off his plate. "You sure got rid of him fast."  
I stab my fork into the egg on my plate. "I don't pry into their business, so they have no business prying into mine."   
"Fair enough." Will states and returns back to his breakfast, but I feel his foot bump against mine. My head snaps up and my gaze meets his and he winks. Gods, what a loser, but he's my loser.

The day goes on as normal, but whenever I see Will, he smirks and winks at me and gods, I hope it never ends.   
In the middle of sword fighting, against Annabeth of all people, Will decides to walk by and wink directly at me. I see though the corner of my eye. While distracted, Annabeth hits me with the butt of her sword. The initial impact was hard enough for me to drop my sword, fall to the ground and knock the wind out of me.  
Annabeth rushes over, a panicked look on her face. "Gods Nico! Are you okay? I thought you would have blocked it, otherwise I wouldn't have swung at you so hard."  
I try to suck a deep breath in. "I just got the wind knocked out of me that's all. I was just a little distracted was all."  
"Distracted by what? The only person that walked by was...wait. Are you and Will a thing again?"  
I exhale sharply. "Yes, we are a 'thing', but I don't want any repeats of what happened, so keep your brunet dog on a short leash."  
"Whoa Nico, no need to be harsh. I can make sure that Percy keeps his nose out of your business, okay?"  
I pretend to ponder her proposal, "That will do...for now." Annabeth breathes an audible sigh of relief and extends a hand to help me up.  
"Okay, but you have to tell me everything" she states, putting a hand on my shoulder. If she knows everything, then maybe Percy won't bother my relationships. So I tell her what happened last night.  
"That sounds like it was amazing! I wish Percy would think of doing something like that. His idea of a date is the bonfire at the end of the night with everyone there!" The two of us shudder at the thought of having dates in front of siblings or even family for that matter.  
"Anyways, I have to go. I signed up to work in the infirmary this afternoon." I sheath my sword.  
"And why would you want to do such a thing? You don't have the hots for the doctor do you?" She winks and waves me off. "Go have fun, I'll see you later."  
I nod and make my way over to the infirmary. Stepping through the door, I'm assaulted by the scent of medical sterilizer and the playful teasing from the other Apollo kids who are off of their shift. I pretend to not hear them and sit this one out. Once they exit the building, everything falls silent and all I do hear is the rapid rise and fall of my chest, accompanied banging of my heart in my chest. I'm going to be alone with Will for three hours for Gods' sake!  
Breaking the silence, I hear one singular voice approaching the infirmary. It slowly grows louder and louder, until I can hear the voice clearly, it's Will. Just hearing his voice makes my heart skip a beat, and my mind courses with what we could do alone, but those thoughts are interrupted by the click of the door opening to the infirmary. I hold my breath as he makes his way to the back. He sets his bag on the table and slips on one of the doctors coats. He turns to wash his hands and sees me on one of the examining tables. Well, here goes nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> I will try to update at least once a month, but no more because school has me ready to strangle myself. You can find me on tumblr as www.keeperofthesolace.tumblr.com or on twitter @imtheshadows942. As always, I enjoy your feedback!


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